Fort Shaw, in Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 was built in 1867, located on the Medicine River

Sun River

The Sun River is a tributary of the Missouri River in the Great Plains, approximately 130 mi long, in Montana in the United States....

, twenty-four miles west of Great Falls

Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...

. It was first named Camp Reynolds then changed to honor Colonel Robert Gould Shaw

Robert Gould Shaw

Robert Gould Shaw was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As colonel, he commanded the all-black 54th Regiment, which entered the war in 1863. He was killed in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina...

, a Civil War soldier. It was established to protect early settlers and travelers on the Mullan Road

Mullan Road

Mullan Road was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. It was built by US Army Lieut. John Mullan between the spring of 1859 and summer 1860. It led from Fort Benton, Montana, the navigational head of the Missouri River to Fort Walla Walla,...

 from raiding Blackfeet. John Gibbon

John Gibbon

John Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...

 rode out from Fort Shaw in 1876 with the 7th Infantry Regiment

7th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The United States Army's 7th Infantry Regiment, known as "The Cottenbalers" from an incident that occurred during the Battle of New Orleans, while under the command of Andrew Jackson, when soldiers of the 7th Infantry Regiment held positions behind a breastwork of bales of cotton during the...

 with orders to join Alfred Terry

Alfred Terry

Alfred Howe Terry was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869 and again from 1872 to 1886.-Early life and career:...

 and George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...

 in the Great Sioux War of 1876–77

Great Sioux War of 1876–77

The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations which occurred between 1876 and 1877 involving the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, against the United States...

.

Fort Shaw was one of the larger posts, and had one building that was 125 feet long where many theatrical functions were held, including the first professional stage performance in Montana. The theater had a floor of hard-packed earth, log benches with no backs for the seats were moved out for dances.

Fort Shaw was abandoned by the army in 1890 but later served as an Indian school. The name Fort Shaw

Fort Shaw, Montana

Fort Shaw is a census-designated place in Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 274 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area'.-Geography:...

 was revived when it became the name of a station and later a small town on the Vaughn-Augusta branch line of the Great Northern Railroad and some distance from the fort remnants. Today there are some buildings from the old days of the fort and one serves as a historical museum that's only open during the summer.